Game Info

When: Thursday, October 18 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Where: Capital One Arena
TV: NBC Sports Washington

Injury Report

Wizards: Dwight Howard (Out, Back)

Heat: Wayne Ellington (Doubtful, Ankle), Justise Winslow (Doubtful, Hamstring), James Johnson (Out, Hernia), Dion Waiters (Out, Ankle)

What to Watch for

Will Dwight play?

Howard, who was diagnosed with a piriformis injury (a muscle in the lower buttocks), returned for his first practice as a Wizard on Monday. He didn’t participate in any preseason games due to pain in his lower back.

When Howard was asked if he would play during Thursday’s season opener he responded, “See how it feels. I’ll do whatever I can to make myself available for all 82 games but the main thing is making sure that I’m healthy for the rest of the season.”

Will the Wizards preseason momentum carry into the regular season?

They Wizards ended preseason with a 4-1 record and won of those wins was against Miami. The match-up ended in a 121-114 win for the Wizards where Beal led with 20 points.

Although the Wizards were without Howard and many players saw limited minutes, we saw exciting team glimpses and individual performances from the Wizards that were exciting such as Jeff Green’s monstrous dunk, Beal’s scoring consistency, Wall’s 32-point game against the Pistons, and a little 3-guard action with Wall, Beal, and Austin Rivers. Hopefully there will be no ejections...

Historic Moment for Kristi Toliver

If you tune in to the game, you’ll be watching history. Toliver, who was named assistant coach for Wizards player development, will make her debut as the first active WNBA player to serve on an NBA bench.

A random moment in Wizards - Heat history: Nene stuffs LeBron James

Still great after all these years.